a cropped sensor awkward? Ive been shooting the F100 and I love it but the price of film and developing it, etc is just too high to justify.

Ive been looking at a D100, possibly a D200 if I can scrape up the money. Would this be an easy switch?

I would love to get a D700 but being a student = major lack of funds

Used D2H or D200 should do you just fine.

D100? I'd avoid it if i were you. A D70s/50 would be a better way to go. Even a D1x or D2h would likewise be better.

A D70s seems reasonable...this just sucks Im going to Europe in less than a month and theres no way I'm going to deal with film over there...then paying to have it all developed ughh

I dont have the money to rent a camera either :-/ I cant find a job

Being in the Alps with no SLR = sad me

You take a sizable hit on the viewfinder. My F4's viewfinder is HUGE compared to my D90's. That's the only thing I really find compelling about shooting with my F4 over my D90, although I started on digital.

I'd agree with luminosity that you'd want a body with a decent JPEG engine, I'd think:

D70s
D2H
D40

in that order.

35mm -> DX

Very. Awkward.

DX -> FX....awesome.

Honestly...thats the BIGGEST thing Im worried about...the viewfinder...after messing with a friends Rebel the viewfinder just left me...disgusted! haha

maybe I should just save and save and save and wait for the D700 to drop in price and buy it used and stick with that for a few years

Get a used D200, or even D80. The viewfinders are decent. I had zero trouble going from F100 to D80 a few years ago. It's not that hard.


Kent in SD

Two23 wrote:
Get a used D200, or even D80. The viewfinders are decent. I had zero trouble going from F100 to D80 a few years ago. It's not that hard.


Kent in SD


This, I had no problem either and fell in love with the new length of my lenses. But I shoot a lot of nature.

d200 and viewfinder magnifier should do the trick

Viewfinder magnifier? Do tell

D200 at the minimum.

God I want a D700...

Anyone want to donate one to the Broke Student Foundation? haha

When I first went part digital I got a D200. It is only marginally larger than an F100 and about the same size as an F6. It took me all of 5 minutes to get used to the handling - all 3 are in most ways similar.
The D200 screen is slightly brighter than the F6 and being 100% magnification compared to about 73% on the F6 appears only marginally smaller through the viewfinder. The D70 viewfinder is quite different - small and dark.
The "crop" factor does not bother me - you just get a bit more magnification when switching from FF to DX.
The learning curve, software costs are quite steep if you are not already scanning film to digital.
You can easily take 40 rolls of film safely through carry on security. Remove them from the tubs, pack them tightly in a sandwich box, CASSETTE LIPS FACING INWARD, and put them through the low dose x-ray at the European end. The metal in the cassette stops low dose x-ray - though if the velvet light trap points out it may not. Working this way I have gone through 6 passes taking film to Africa and bringing it back to UK for processing. If you buy a photographers vest things in it do not count in the carry on weight limit.

Its just the cost of the film overall thats really hitting me hard. Digital just seems so much more convenient.

I would love to shoot Film for fun...more as a hobby you know?

Get a D2H. It is cheap and fast, the viewfinder is as good as it gets for DX, smaller than the F100 but it won't kill you. As for the focal length/DOF issues, after a few shots and a couple of lens changes you won't even notice.

I'd say a D200 is pretty good value for money. The viewfinder is good - you'll get used to the size difference in no time. Even though I have a D700, I use the D200 with equal joy. It's a great DX-camera. IMO.

I've used the D200 and its not bad compared to my D300 or my F100. I truly don't notice it until I go to frame a scene, and grab the wrong prime lens.

The 35/1.8 has been a bit of an equalizer for focal length equivalence.

Digital isn't necessarily cheaper. You'll need a PC capable of doing any processing you want and a decent enough monitor, you'll need to buy the software you're going to use if it's PS / NX / Lr + any other tools like EfexPro etc, then you'll want enough storage space for all your pictures, then you'll want a backup solution so when your hard drive dies (which is 2x more likely to happen if you don't have a backup solution) you can recover everything, then you need to factor in that this PC and monitor use a lot of power.

Anyway, if I were you I'd be looking at a D40 with kit lens. I bought one for my Mrs and it's great in the green mode - I really wish my D300 had a green mode!!!